Posted 4 years ago on April 29, 2013, 7:04 a.m. EST by KevinPotts
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This content is user submitted and not an official statement

“But I don’t wanna be Your slave anymore.” said Toby, as he wiped the sweat from “his” brow and leaned against his Master’s plow in his Master’s cotton field on his Master’s Plantation.

“But why not?” said Toby’s Master, as He sipped His refreshing drink and relaxed in His expensive, luxuriously comfortable chair from His Flamboyantly Decadent, Oversized Mansion and counted ALL of “His“ Profits that “He“ Made from "His" slave Toby’s back-breaking-hard-labor, “Don’t you believe in working for a living?”

113 Comments

I would like to see products labeled with, say, things like, what percent of the cost of the item went to pay workers' wages, what percent went to the shareholders in the form of profits, what percent went to executive pay, etc. Things like that. I'd make buying decisions based on that information.

Great Idea !!! You couldn't mandate it as things stand now (before the democratic revolution we all need) because The Corporations write the laws that 'regulate' them but ethical suppliers of goods and services could display the information you allude to, voluntarily & the proverbial ethical cream can rise to the top & in compliment : http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article37028.htm - Solidarity to you & yours.

So, let's have the revolution! That article you linked to really annoyed me. Here are 5 ways our lives are being violated by corporate greed:

The Pharmaceutical industry has privatized our bodies. "One-fifth of the human genome is privately owned through patents."

"Oil Companies: Ripping Up the Country, Ripping Off the Taxpayers"

"Telecommunications: We're Paying Them to Spy on Us" "The CIA and NSA have been using our tax money to pay AT&T and Google and other companies to access its data - our data - for surveillance purposes."

"Banks: Almost 40% of Our 401(k)s Lost in Fees" This is a doozy. "Based on the 6% historical stock market return, an individual investing $1,000 a year for 30 years in a non-fee fund and then holding the accumulated sum for another 20 years would end up with $269,000. Imposing the industry average 1.3% fee would reduce the final total to $165,000, a 39% reduction." What?

"Banks II: Revenue Here, Profits Overseas" For example, "Bank of America...despite making a whopping 82% of its 2011-12 revenue in the U.S., declared a $10 billion profit in foreign countries -- and $7 billion in U.S. losses.

Fury and indignation at the parasitic extraction going on, is totally justified & Paul Buchheit is a warrior for The 99% in summing up this information so well, which you excerpt above. Yes, the 401k parasitism is rampant and it is the compounded effect of that innocuous sounding 1.3% (higher in many instances) over 20 years that is the quiet, evil, venal parasitic factor.

Extrapolate this in a different way to mortgages and the relativity of the actual purchase price of a house to the final amount paid to the lenders and you will get why banks have the biggest buildings in any city and just how they 'extract usury' on the backs of workers and buyers over the course of a lifetime. Now factor in student debt and household debt and, it's clear that things can NOT continue in the same vein for too much longer.

Jubilee and reclamation of the power to issue money and credit via Nationalising Central Banks and thus making them subject to The Democratic State, is what we need now. How did we get to this juncture ?! Well researching 'The Lewis Powell Memo' will shine a li'l light, as will :

''The psychology of the super rich; their sense of entitlement, the dehumanization of workers and their mistaken belief that their wealth will insulate them from the coming storms.'' For a shot in the arm tho', please see (via 'A4C') :

"Extrapolate this in a different way to mortgages and the relativity of the actual purchase price of a house to the final amount paid to the lenders and you will get why banks have the biggest buildings in any city and just how they 'extract usury' on the backs of workers and buyers over the course of a lifetime. Now factor in student debt and household debt and, it's clear that things can NOT continue in the same vein for too much longer."

Worth repeating, because so well said.

Americans have to begin realizing that any kind of political or social freedom is meaningless if we are in debt-bondage, chains of economic tyranny!

Everyone in The U$A should watch this & ''begin realizing that any kind of political or social freedom is meaningless if we are in debt-bondage, chains of economic tyranny!'' Onwards and upwards - because it's been sideways and backwards - for far too long. Solidarity bw.

Rugged individualism on steroids. Mad Libertarianism ramped up to cream the masses. I'd laugh at that Big Picture episode if it weren't so scary and so sad. Too many turkeys voting for Thanksgiving in America because of narrow nationalism and severe brainwashing where lionizing the wealthy and the material supersedes any shred of humanity.

But do NOT despair. There are many, many good people - old and young, of all hues and creeds - who are quietly working for a bw for all. They are joining dots and then joining the dots amongst themselves. OWS has changed the conversation very quickly in a way no other social movement has in The USA &

"There has long been a correlation observed between materialism, a lack of empathy and engagement with others, and unhappiness."

We all know some people caught up in the drive for materialism. We also know some people striving to make the world a better place, like those in your thread about the 5 OWS people, and many more.

Overcoming the general overriding ethos of acquisition, consumerism and materialism is the number one thing that needs changing before anything else will change.

I think about how people were allowed to camp on the sidewalk if camping to go shopping at sales on Black Friday, yet, if camping out to protest inequity and fairness, their camps were torn to pieces and folks arrested. What kind of society do we want?

And, just to irritate the trolls who have down-voted you, here again, are the lyrics to "Spirit" by the Waterboys:

Man gets tired
Spirit don't
Man surrenders
Spirit won't

Man crawls
Spirit flies
Spirit lives
When man dies

Man seems
Spirit is
Man dreams
The spirit lives
Man is tethered
Spirit free
What spirit is
Man can be

''Overcoming the general overriding ethos of acquisition, consumerism and materialism is the number one thing that needs changing before anything else will change.'' Thanx for your 'Spirit' bw. Solidarity.

2013 saw some positive change for the 99% but the changes were minimal and our work is clearly cut out for us. Seeds have been planted, workers have begun to rise up but we need to continue pushing for an economic system that works for the people and not vice versa.

We need a new way to view the value of labor, one that has humanity at it's core. What is a job after-all? What is pay? What is the purpose of a job and pay? What is profit? Who should benefit from profit? What is the purpose of profit? These are all questions that need to be asked and resolved because the way the economic system is working right now is for the 1% greedy grubbing wealthy and corporations and clearly that is not how it should be.

We need a government that will look deeply at these questions and resolve the answers to provide for the general welfare of the masses of people it is supposed to serve as outlined in the constitution. It's not rocket science that we need. It's compassion and empathy, morality and common sense.

''Many activists mistakenly think when they are protesting their target is the government or a corporation when in fact the target is mobilizing the people. We want to show that there is an effective movement speaking to the people’s concerns and putting forth views that they support. This is especially true in the current stage where our task is to broaden and deepen the movement through talking, often one-on one, with people in our communities and creating a national consensus in support of our goals.''

Many thanx for your thought provoking and fundamental questions, points and observations. Good to see you back around these parts and best wishes & solidarity for 2014 and beyond to you and yours.

"Major Social Transformation Is a Lot Closer Than You May Realize - How Do We Finish the Job?." which outlines how we can actually move this thing forward.

This forum has been an important vehicle in getting this social movement to the stage it is at, but the forum is losing focus. We need to get back on track to keep the forum effective for what still needs to be done.

From the article: "Stage 4 is the “Social Movement Take-Off.” During Occupy, it seemed that suddenly the unfair wealth divide, the corruption of Wall Street and the dysfunction of government came into people’s consciousness. These issues were discussed in the media and politicians started using language to show they understood there was a problem. Prior to this, these issues were largely ignored taboo topics that were not on the political radar.

In Stage 4, there are three concepts about which the public must be convinced. The first was accomplished during Occupy, that is: there is a problem that must be confronted. We also began to accomplish the second concept: current conditions and policies must be opposed. During later stages this second goal will be broadened and expanded. The final concept – and this is still ahead of us– is that people no longer fear the alternatives but want the alternatives put in place."

So, therefore, if we take what Zeese and Flowers are saying, and why wouldn't we, it's not like anyone else has provided an analysis of this global social movement, the next thing to do is get people to "no longer fear the alternatives but want the alternatives put in place."

"In open defiance we will have to build our own independent institutions. Of course the speculators will fight back. And they will fight dirty—they know the consequences of this revolt. Public banks are not just about the economy. They are about liberty."

Thank goodness for truly courageous scholars such as Hedges and West, Chomsky, Zeese, Flowers, Reich, Wolf, etc. who provide us with a framework from which to move forward.

We are seeing here on this forum why so few people are willing to really put themselves out there. The criticism can be intense, and the establishment has enough money- or theres just enough nuts out there- to hire people to do nothing but dig dirt and follow people.

Its a malicious and unforgiving world out there, and theres nothing worse than to see people who claim to care acting as they do when things dont go their way.

For all the talk about "libertopia" around here- well really not that just much as a per poster basis, but as in, well... ya know... - the ones spouting it are probably the meanest and sickest people Ive encountered on the internet in a while.

Okay, I hear you totally, but let's forget about them and be positive. Keep fighting for what really matters, a beautiful world for all of us. When I chose that moniker over 2 years ago I truly felt it was the over-arching goal for all of us, and, for me, it still is. I will not give up because of a few curmudgeons and neither should you or anyone else. Being an awakened American is a kind of rare thing. Your people need you.

This video still sums things up very well for me, "The Revolution is Love":

Do review the thread above, shooz and observe the fractious tangent that you chose to take us down here. You jump in and copy in a link from Another Thread in order to continue your point and so as to display your abrasive, querulous and obtuse nature and get antsy when you are not wholly agreed with.

Usually I would have put up at least one link to support my line of thinking but didn't do so before when I briefly tried to 'break it down' from my pov re. Thailand - but I'll do so now, by very briefly excerpting this important and wide-ranging, scholarly article by Prof. James Petras :

''What progressives are unwilling to recognize is that the oligarchs orchestrating the mass revolt are authoritarians who completely reject democratic procedures and electoral processes. Their aim is to establish a ‘junta’, which will eliminate all democratic political and social institutions and freedoms and impose harsher, more repressive and regressive policies and institutions than those they replace. Some leftists support the ‘masses in revolt’ simply because of their ‘militancy’, their numbers and street courage, without examining the underlying leaders, their interests and links to the elite beneficiaries of a ‘regime change’.''

''In Thailand, the democratically-elected Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, represents a section of the economic elite with ties and support in the rural areas, especially the North-East, as well as deep trade relations with China. The opponents are urban-based, closer to the military-monarchists and favor a straight neo-liberal agenda linked to the US against the rural patronage-populist agenda of Ms. Shinawatra.''

~

Thailand forms only a small part of this very, interesting and important article. I'm really not going to be surprised if you don't read it or reply but I will strongly recommend it to other readers. You need not try to insult me in reply either & again with your quasi-cryptic sign offs, huh ? My 'li'l latin epithets are very easily translated but I'll leave your latest Italian offering but thanx anyway, lol & please try to note that tho' I respect the work of Occupy.com I'm not necessarily obliged to take all their reporting as 'gospel'.

hey shadz - I really like reading your posts and responses - nice job on all counts as far as I have read. I have been away from the site (mostly) for quite some time because of nonsense like this. I use the site to gain info to help me understand certain issues so I can explain them better to people I know. seems to me that the argument with girlfriday and shooz is about Israel - am I wrong or does it take other forms as well? my wife is jewish - she has trouble facing the harsh reality of what goes on there but she has a very good understanding of the right and wrong of the situation. i can see how someone with strong emotional ties to Israel reacts this way but seems to me that this type of discussion has no business on this site. i spent many days in zuccotti park when it was up and running. there were some intense debates about Israel and arabs and jews were involved. when people got too unpleasant they were told that that type of behavior was not helpful. they were told to either remain respectful or stop talking. i found it really a great experience and i am very disappointed that it does not continue here. these two seem to debate like politicians - using confusion and misrepresentations to avoid unpleasant facts. i don't read enough of the material here to be sure of what i am saying which is why i am asking what you think. i am about to check out again i think - name calling and lies and distortions i can hear on fox or abc radio. as i said you (and many others of course - the beauty being one of them) do a great job and seem to be able to keep your cool - better than me anyway! keep it up

Furthermore, of course I read your Occupy.com article and you have zero evidence for saying I didn't but I 'suspect' that you project the fact you didn't read my link, but were more concerned with impugning the author. I just have a somewhat different perspective on the goings on in Thailand (inter alia) than you and that is actually allowed here on this forum btw.

''Sources matter, just like motives'' ... at last something we can agree upon and had you read it - you'd have seen that that was the entire point of Petras' thought provoking article. Finally, please do note that opposition to the policies of Israel or even to Zionism, does NOT make one an 'anti-semite' and I would encourage you to closely reread your own link.

Shooz, I wouldn't waste my time giving you an explanation on what is common knowledge, just like Shadz doesn't need to waste his time explaining to you that he has broader knowledge of Thailand when reading that article. Saying he makes things up and the crap you say about his soul is way over the line. He is a warrior for the 99% and you really have your nerve.

Ignoring an actual Occupy issue and everything that was said in the link, just to attack me on a personal level.

We used to call that copping out.

Enjoy your cop out.

Can you find the crap about them all being right wingers in the article?

Good luck.

Maybe he once was, what say he is, but he's not that anymore.

Not since he chose sides in the battle of the banned.

That puts him in direct support of puppets and for all I know bots too.

That makes it my problem and I will deal with it, as I see fit.

You can hate me for it all you like, but you might be surprised at all the cleaning up I've done around here over the years. All the spammers, bigots, racists, jerks, script kiddies, fascists and more I've dealt with.

Unfortunately, it's a damn lonely and thankless job, but I intend to continue on, in spite of all the hate that's pointed at me and the lies told about me.

Let's not beat around the bush here & if you want to interject and repost your article and reference my initial reply, then - for the correct context, let's clearly cite the original link whence it came shall we ?!

Ok. I'll break it down from my p-o-v : Taksin Shinawatra (& his probable puppet sister) = Billionaire Oligarchs, populist and nationalist, appealing to rural, agrarian majority = right wing ; The 'so called' Opposition = Urban Elites and Business Interests = Neoliberal Right Wingers, who don't give a hoot for the rural peasantry but may sympathise with the landowners. Add to the mix - The Military & A King !!

Both parties are creations of the 1% and there to present a faux choice - with the help of The MSM (print & TV) and utterly marginalise and neuter any 'Real Left', who are divided, disorganised & sadly voiceless without access to MSM, TV and Radio. Ring Any Bells? THAT is your 'Soap Opera' shooz !!!

That link is theirs, and I don't see a word in it about how it's all right wingers fighting right wingers.

Perhaps you can find it there for us all?

"BANGKOK – In a bid for what many here are calling vital democratic change, protesters by the thousands are continuing their push on to the streets of Thailand's capital despite violent protests earlier this month that reportedly left one police officer dead and scores of protesters injured.

On Thursday, nearly 2,000 anti-government demonstrators gathered at locations across the capital which again turned violent. Police reported 129 people injured, including 25 police officers. A police spokesman had previously reported 35 officers injured, but some of the injured had been counted twice.

Those demonstrating liken their movement to a popular uprising – one they say could determine the Southeast Asian country’s immediate future. Political rights lie at the heart of the protests, where activists have told Occupy.com they are prepared to shut down the capital to press for change in the status quo military and political leadership.

Specifically, the protesters want an end to a regime with strong remnants of the Thaksin Shinawatra-era, including current Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, the sister of the former Prime Minister Thaksin who was ousted in a 2006 military coup.

“This is our Thailand and we are tired of being bullied into submission by the military and those who don’t deliver on their promises to change this country in the ways they said during elections,” a protester told Occupy.com on the sidelines of a demonstration that took place last week outside the Thai-Japanese Sports Complex in the capital.

In a bid to cool tensions, Prime Minister Shinawatra dissolved the nation's parliament earlier this month and called for new elections, to be held February 2.

But the announcement did little to ease the outrage in the streets, and many protesters viewed the call for new elections as a ploy to get them to retreat from protests and participate in a voting process already widely viewed as corrupt.

The U.S. Embassy in Bangkok recently took the measure of warning American citizens to avoid the demonstrations and any congested areas in the city. "Even demonstrations that are meant to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence. Exercise caution if in the vicinity of any large gatherings, protests, or demonstrations," read the embassy's message.

Activists who have been taking to the street for days, and some now for weeks, say Thailand's political system needs a complete overhaul and are calling for democratic processes and freedoms which they argue have been steadily eroded over the past decade.

“We are here to show the government and the military that the future of Thailand belongs to the people," said one protest organizer, who asked to be called Tina, "and we will not allow corrupt government officials to take our rights away so they can maintain power as our fellow citizens continue to suffer."

The future of Thailand, added Tina, must be based on principles of social justice. “All Thai people are suffering because the government isn’t listening and isn’t caring about the future of us all," she said.

"They care about business deals and corporations and making money. [Governance] needs to be done with the people in mind, and help to create a country where equality is central.”

With elections now little more than a month away, protesters fear the military and police could intervene in an even harsher manner, causing further violence and unrest. Many in the streets say the police-provoked violence fits the government's plan of getting rural people and the less educated to turn out at the polls, maintaining a status quo in the face of unrest in the streets.

The protesters, however, received an unlikely ally in their effort to further postpone elections and introduce new policies into the country, when Thailand's Election Commission recently urged the government to push back the February 2 date in order to bring all sides to the table.

"The current violence that just took place... is something that we have already signaled could happen," the commission said. "We urge the government to postpone the election until a joint agreement from both sides is reached."

In the meantime, the government and protesters remain far apart on any discussions or decisions that might leads to a peaceful letup in the streets. For Tina, those sustained actions and protests are the only means of being heard.

“Our voices are important," she said. "We are speaking for all the Thai people, and the government must listen."

I love the idea of a pie chart. And, like shadz just said somewhere else in these threads, this would likely be hard to force companies to do, but hey, if some would do it voluntarily I think it would make a huge difference. Ethically and socially responsible companies listen up! This would be an awesome tool for consumers.

Yep, I think it has about as much chance of becoming a reality as GMO labeling, maybe less, but that doesn't mean it's not a damn good idea. When I was thinking about the idea yesterday, I thought adding in the cost of manufacturing would be good too. And maybe some 'externalities' like transportation costs. It wouldn't be perfect, of course, for instance you couldn't tell from the manufacturing slice whether the product was union-made or a product of slave labor, but you could pack quite a bit of good information in it. An "informed consumer," and all that.

Hell, they're talking about a living wage on CNN and MSNBC these days, so you just never know! Who would ever have thought that class consciousness would become part of the American conversation? But, it is, and you just never know. The harder we push, the more we will get. And, those are all great ideas for the next true consumer label.

It's surprising, to say the least. When I first joined this forum, I honestly didn't hold out much hope for any improvement in this country but I'm starting to think differently now. The 'Syria incident' was an eye-opener for me. I would've bet the farm we'd be at war by now. So, if the voice of the people can stop a war (I'm assuming that was a big part) then who knows?

Never give up hope, gno. I'm sure not on this forum for any reason other than to bring about change for the 99% and I do see that seeds have been sown and that they are beginning to grow. OWS has been a huge part of the change in conversation in this country.

I still have hope in certain cases, but I had almost given up hope for this forum until a mutual friend pointed out to me our true target audience.

On things like climate change, though, I don't hold out much, especially in light of this administration's new policy towards "energy independence." Obama's firmly in bed with Big Oil and that's disheartening.

I do like that idea. Straight from the pages of the "Non-GMO Project" playbook.

Considering the growing backlash against GM foods, it would be a wise business decision for some of these companies to adopt that practice. It would almost assuredly result in increased sales, I think.

So your inferring the common working man is a slave? I doubt most people see themselves as a slave. I think most people think they work to provide for themselves and their families. Yea, someone is profiting off your labor, but that’s necessarily bad.

As for capitalism not working. You could’ve fooled me. Americans have had one of the highest living standards in the world for about a hundred years now. Compared to most of the world we live in decadent luxury. We buy big screen TV’s by the millions, think nothing of spending $25K on a new car, stand in line for hours to buy the newest iPhone and generally buy every new shiny thing we see.

Yes, there are inequities and inequalities between the rich and poor. So what else is new. Certainly we need to do something about corrupt government, greedy corporations and evil Wall Street. But be realistic The American people are doing pretty well.

''College expenses in Pennsylvania have become outrageously high over the past decade, fuelled in part by the “easy money” of student loans and government financial aid. Schools maintain extremely high principals (the cost of tuition) and offset the costs to students, who are expected to take out loans that could potentially permanently bury them in debt.'' From your alarming but excellent link, from which I also extracted :

''Killer links'' or not, some people resent non-'USers' commenting on US matters & so I ought to say for their 'benefit' (although I'm very unsure how it'd please anyone) that UK student debt will soon be ~£50k (ie$80k) per student. Fkng Barbarous imo !!! Matt Taibbi Rox alright !! So does Yves Smith ! I presume you know about her rather famous web-site but if not - here you go :

''It's time to abandon the fantasy of a steady-state capitalism, go back to the drawing boards and come up with a real "new macro-economic model," a practical, workable post-capitalist ecological economy, an economy by the people, for the people that is geared to production for need, not for profit. "Socialism"? "Economic democracy"? Call it what you like. But what other choice do we have? Either we save capitalism or we save ourselves. We can't save both.'' from :

Ellen Brown running for public office in California is absolutely great news for the Californian, American and Global 99%. As she says : ''I am throwing my bonnet in the ring for the opportunity to show the Governor, or his successor that a state-owned bank can be our ticket to returning California to the abundance it once enjoyed.''

Free Barrett Brown! From your excellent link - 'Brown apparently stumbled on the murky world of "private" cyber-security firms and their covert relationship with the US government – and is now paying the consequences. - 'Endgame' is in the business of what appears to be hacking, providing information on weak spots in computer software that could be used to compromise systems. According to Business Week: "Endgame executives will bring up maps of airports, parliament buildings, and corporate offices. The executives then create a list of the computers running inside the facilities, including what software the computers run, and a menu of attacks that could work against those particular systems."

Also for your urgent attention: https://firstlook.org/theintercept 'Let The Be Light' - Never Give Up Supporting Those Exposing The 'Dark State'! Occupy Transparency And Democracy! Solidarity.

Oh how true that is ! It is because the likes of me and you from opposite sides of this Good Earth, our beautiful, shared and only Hommme - love Americans and admire but fear America, that we are here - despite the petulant and fractious umbrage of some on this forum. B well 'B' :-) & ...

''The current social movement that exploded onto the national scene with the 2011 Occupy Movement is following the path of successful movements so far. The social movement in 2014 is poised to begin an exciting era of broadening and deepening the growing consensus for social and economic justice.

''In addition to protest, opportunities need to be created for widespread civic involvement in projects that put the people at odds with the current system. These citizen involvement programs need to reflect the movement’s values and goals and the full range of the new world the movement wants to create. The movement should be putting forth a bold vision, a new paradigm, and larger demands beyond mere reforms of the status quo.''

They've Taken $1.6 Million Per Family in New Wealth Since the Recession. "...the richest 5% (six million households) own about two-thirds of the wealth, or about $10 trillion of the $15 trillion in financial wealth gained since the recession...It is noteworthy that most of their windfall came from stock market gains rather than from job-creating business ventures."

They Create Imaginary Money That Turns Real. "The speculative, non-productive, and fee-generating derivatives market has increased to an unfathomable level of over $1 quadrillion...Just 250 individuals have more money than the total annual living expenses of almost half the world - three billion people.

They've Stopped Payment on Productive Americans. "...the working class has not been properly compensated for its productivity...As a result, our median inflation-adjusted household wealth has dropped from $73,000 to $57,000 in a little over 25 years. We've lost another five percent of our wealth since the recession."

Head in the sand means ass in the air and despite MSM Televalium - ''it's good to know the truth''. For too long, ignorance & propaganda have been nurtured in Americans as an explicit arm of social policy.

As Paul Buchheit says: ''This is not a matter of productive people benefiting from their contributions to society. This is a relatively small number of people extracting massive amounts of money through the financial system for accomplishing almost nothing. ... The End Result? That suction-like sound is the financial industry soaking up our country's wealth.''

Very few in American journalism have the depth and breadth of wisdom and perspective as Bill Moyers and as such, I append this thought provoking article for later consideration :

''Why are record numbers of Americans on food stamps? Because record numbers of Americans are in poverty. Why are people falling through the cracks? Because there are cracks to fall through. It is simply astonishing that in this rich nation more than 21 million Americans are still in need of full-time work, many of them running out of jobless benefits, while our financial class pockets record profits, spends lavishly on campaigns to secure a political order that serves its own interests, and demands that our political class push for further austerity. Meanwhile, roughly 46 million Americans live at or below the poverty line and, with the exception of Romania, no developed country has a higher percent of kids in poverty than we do.'' Please also consider :

Zeese and Flowers have done an outstanding job at analyzing where we are with this momentous social movement called Occupy Wall Street, what stage we are at and what we need to do next. Come on people, pull it together, keep going. Never give up! The 99% don't know what's coming! Their rights, their freedom, their equality!

The Wholly Corporate Controlled, Pro-Faux-Libertarian MSM has plied Americans with the totally self defeating twaddle of the 'rugged individual who is a temporarily embarrassed millionaire' for far too long.

Now consider : The Minimum Wage ; Banking Reform ; Banking as Strategic Public Utility ; Universal Healthcare ; Good Pensions ; Sound Public Education ; Students free of Debt Bondage as they start their working lives - these and other things should be the 'no brainer' "opportunity" for The US 99%, IF only they could just override their deep cradle to grave, 'Turkeys voting for Thanksgiving', socio-cultural programming and get organised and active & finally start acting in all of your collective best interests !!

It can be done. Y'all can gently land an exploratory probe on a distant planet and scoop the tail of a comet & bring it back to earth for analysis which is a beautiful & moving symphony of mathematics.

You Americans are capable of anything - even greatness when you remember that 'together you, we & all The 99% everywhere - are stronger' !! So, with an alternate font, again I present for you and others :

"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience. Our problem is that numbers of people all over the world have obeyed the dictates of the leaders of their government and have gone to war, and millions have been killed because of this obedience. Our problem is that people are obedient all over the world in the face of poverty and starvation and stupidity, and war, and cruelty. Our problem is that people are obedient while the jails are full of petty thieves, and all the while the grand thieves are running and robbing the country. That's our problem.": (Howard Zinn, from ''Failure to Quit'') & consider :

By Flowers and Zeese, as per your link : ''We have no doubt 2014 is going to be an amazing year for the social-political movement that is growing daily. We are likely to see some victories, perhaps some very important ones. There will be many victories on the road to our ultimate success. There will also be failures. We should celebrate the victories and learn from the failures. - These are exciting times to be involved with this movement. We’ve already come a long way, but the best is yet to come.''

So yes bw, we need : ''Massive public education of the challenge at hand. Hence, the usefulness and importance of this forum'' & thus also see http://www.popularresistance.org/ + ...

"It is staggering that in the 21st Century, half of the world's population – that's three and a half billion people – own no more than a tiny elite whose numbers could all fit comfortably on a double-decker bus."

People need to understand facts like these. Education is the single most important thing we can do to effectuate action for change.

85 people on earth have wealth equal to the bottom half of the earth's population! Time for a revolution, folks! No status quo! No working within the current system!

Here is the current system as Whitehead points out "...we now find ourselves at a point where, for the first time in history, Congress is dominated by a majority of millionaires who are, on average, 14 times wealthier than the average American....While Congress should be America's representative body, too many of its members bear little resemblance to those they have been elected to represent."

''4 Money Grabs Show a Few Rich People Are the Ones Getting Wealthier in America''

Only people who already have money can increase their wealth. Conclusion : The system is broken !!!

by Paul Buchheit

It was shown in a recent report that the richest Americans have made millions from their stock holdings since the recession.

It's getting worse. The facts are summarized here, and presented in greater detail at Us Against Greed.

1. Just 13 Americans Made More from Their Investments in 2013 than the Entire SNAP Budget :

Some wealthy Americans like to refer to themselves as "makers," and food stamp recipients as "takers," even though most of the latter are children, the elderly, or low-wage workers. Many of the top 13 on the Forbes list did not make anything of significance in 2013. Yet by being heavily invested in the stock market they were able to take $80 billion among them, more than a year of food stamps for almost 50 million people.

2. The Richest 400 Took $300 Billion in 2013, Approximately the ENTIRE Safety Net :

The total budget for SNAP, WIC (Women, Infants, children), Child Nutrition, Earned Income Tax Credit, Supplemental Security Income, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and Housing is less than the $300 billion 'earned' by the Forbes 400.

3. The Richest 12,000 Families are Estimated to have Each Made $40 Million in the Past Year :

The stock market grew by $4.7 trillion in 2013. The richest 1% owns about 38% of all stocks, or about $1.8 trillion of the 2013 gain.

At the lofty levels of the unimaginably rich, the takings of the .1% (120,000 households), and even moreso of the .01% (12,000 households), become progressively greater and greater for the very richest households (unlike their taxes). According to wealth data compiled by Kopczuk and Saez, each member of the elite .01% group owns about 40 times the wealth of an average member of the richest one percent. Assuming that this ratio holds for accumulated 2013 wealth, each of the 12,000 super-rich American families made about $40 million in just one year. This is not an unreasonable conclusion, in light of the average gain of $750 million for each member of the Forbes 400.

4. The Richest 400 Individuals Own More Than Three-Fifths of America :

The richest 400 now own over $2 trillion among them, or about 2.8% of the country's wealth of $72 trillion. This is more than the holdings of three-fifths of America, or 72 million families.

Conclusion : The System Is Broken :

The overall calculations reveal that, to the best approximation:

The richest 400 individuals made an average of $750,000,000 each in 2013.

The .01% (12,000 families) made about $40,000,000 each.

The .1% (120,000 families) made about $3,600,000 each.

The rest of the 1% (1,068,000 families) made over $830,000 each.

The 2-5% (4,800,000 households) made about $300,000 each.

The 6-10% (6,000,000 households) made about $95,000 each.

The 11-20% (12,000,000 households) made about $39,000 each.

The 21-40% (24,000,000 households) made about $13,000 each.

The 41-60% (24,000,000 households) made about $4,000 each.

The 61-80% (24,000,000 households) made about $333 each.

The bottom 20% (24,000,000 households) made nothing.

Capitalism is supposed to provide everyone the opportunity to benefit from our country's productivity. But it hasn't worked that way for the past 35 years. Today only the people who already have money can increase their wealth. Congress doesn't seem to recognize, or doesn't care, that the system is horribly distorted in favor of a small group of people who need to do very little to take most of the wealth.

~

radix omnium malorum est cupiditas ...

~

(Paul Buchheit is a college teacher, a writer for progressive publications, and the founder and developer of social justice and educational websites : UsAgainstGreed.org, PayUpNow.org, RappingHistory.org).

"Let them eat cake!" Okay, but for how much longer? At some point, just like throughout history, this kind of inequality will implode and redistribution will occur and it will most likely happen by force since the 1% greedy grubbers just can't stop the self aggrandizement. Don't worry, at some point, the people will rise up. It is inevitable with numbers like these.

Also, this is a good place to make the point that Chomsky makes, that:

"It's well known among economists that markets are inefficient."

"Externalities," which are the affects one economic decision has on other economic situations, (or people) are not considered."

So, here you have it. For example, an employer extracts profits by paying an extremely low wage to make a lot of money for it's own corporation in the very short term, because that is all that matters to them, but, this causes systemic suffering as the economic system as a whole pays the price when people's wages are so low that they do not have enough money to survive, let alone spend.

Markets are inefficient because all they care about is the extraction of profit and that does not create a healthy environment for human beings. It creates the kind of inequality that we have today and that your excellent article outlines in too much detail for my stomach, frankly.

''Markets are inefficient because all they care about is the extraction of profit and that does not create a healthy environment for human beings. It creates the kind of inequality that we have today'' Ditto & ergo :

''On the eve of the annual spectacle of parasitic wealth and power that is the World Economic Forum in the Alpine resort town of Davos, Switzerland, the Oxfam charity has issued a report warning of the unprecedented growth of social inequality throughout the world.

'The people of the world are confronted with the question: What is to be done with this anti-social and criminal layer that is strangling the planet?

''As a matter of social hygiene and basic survival, the wealth of this parasitic layer must be expropriated. The working class, organized as an independent political force, must seize it and use it to meet crying social needs—jobs, health care, education, housing, nutrition, access to culture and art.

''The death-grip of the plutocrats over finance and industry must be broken. The banks and corporations must be taken out of private hands and placed under public ownership and democratic control. There is only one way this can be done: by means of the revolutionary transformation of society and the establishment of socialism.''

"Describing a planet in the malevolent grip of a handful of plutocrats, the report states that the richest 85 people in the world control as much wealth as the bottom 50 percent of the world's population—3.5 billion people! It notes that the richest 1 percent today controls 46 percent of the world’s wealth."

The 99% have no choice but to rise up and take back their economic rights which are, de facto, natural rights. They can only do this by ending capitalism which has proven that even with regulation and checks and balances it fails miserably at benefiting the masses.

''The 99% have no choice but to rise up and take back their economic rights which are, de facto, natural rights. They can only do this by ending capitalism which has proven that even with regulation and checks and balances it fails miserably at benefiting the masses.'' Emphatic ditto & in compliment :

We definitely, at a minimum, need a new way to value labor, a new "Labor Theory of Value." Labor needs to be valued first for it's contribution to the society of humans in which it exists and, second, to the profit that it creates. Therefore, menial labor still needs to pay a living wage to the human performing the task. If that does not happen, the economic system becomes an abject failure, like we have today.

An economic system's sole purpose should be to provide for the masses of people living within it. Profit should be secondary.

One way to do it as outlined in Reber's article: "Democratizing economic power will return us to the pristine innocence and economic power diffusion we had in a pre-industrial society where labor was the principal factor in the creation of wealth."

''Labor needs to be valued first for it's contribution to the society of humans in which it exists and, second, to the profit that it creates. Therefore, menial labor still needs to pay a living wage to the human performing the task.'' - because it bears repeating, thus : http://15now.org/ Solidarity and also consider :

"Lastly, I want to give the State House fair warning: Low wage workers are no longer passively standing by while our living standards erode. If this body does not act to dramatically correct the unaffordability of Washington State in all of your districts, then we will. Fast food workers, child care workers, Walmart workers, Farm workers, Hotel workers, Boeing workers – all will act to raise the minimum wage, remove restrictions on rent control, and reverse the regressive tax in this state so big business and the super-rich pay, not workers and small businesses." Kshama Sawant.

American workers across the nation must do the same. Stand up and fight for what is your natural right under the social contract, a right to a decent life supported by a living wage. Labor should absolutely not be valued on task alone. It must, must be valued with humanity's needs in mind, not simply profit extraction. Profit for what, anyway? The greedy bastards at the top? Why not profit for all? What are the tasks being performed by the shareholders to justify what they extract from the working class?

Yes! The first step is to realize the dems nor the repubs are there to help us. We must help ourselves! We must form the 99% and create a peaceful revolution based on information sharing and helping each other out. Let's stop counting on representatives to change the world for us. They won't!

Gee, 7 of the top 10 wealthiest members of Congress are Democrats. Many of their interests are the same as other wealthy people and corporations. Perhaps this explains why no matter who controls Congress, Democrats or Republicans, Americans continue to get screwed. 40 years of declining wages and benefits, paltry benefit increases to Social Security, increasing poverty, warmongering, spying on the American people, etc etc.

Here is a list of the 50 wealthiest members of Congress. Plenty of Democrats on the list:

''What happened to Congress? Not so long ago, school children were taught more about Sens. Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun and Daniel Webster than many of the presidents of that pre-Civil War era.

''High among the causes of Congress' decline has surely been the loss or surrender of its constitutional powers — to presidents, the Supreme Court and a federal bureaucracy Congress itself created.

''Consider this. Under Article 1, Congress is entrusted with the power to "regulate commerce with foreign nations."

''With the exception of slavery, there was not a more divisive issue before the Civil War than the tariff question.

''In the Jacksonian era, South Carolina almost seceded over the tariff, and Andrew Jackson threatened an invasion.

''Today, Congress first surrendered to the executive the authority to negotiate trade deals, and then passed fast track, denying itself the right to amend those treaties. Congress has restricted itself to a yes or no vote on what the executive negotiates.

''The transnational corporations that finance campaigns are delighted.'' from :

That really is some link that you have found btw, bw and it just goes to show how far from The 99% these totally misdescribed 'Represesentatives' & Senators are. Congress is captured, co-opted and controlled by Corporations and Neoliberal Plutocrats & OWS is now the very necessary boot up the backside for anyone who thinks otherwise. I recommend your 'Guardian' link above to all too. Thanx.

That is the crux of the matter. When an economic system and an entire society, for that matter, is structured primarily to benefit corporations by extracting profit from the labor and wealth (or lack thereof) of the masses, you get what we have today. Lots of poverty, lots of debt, lots of violence, misguided materialism, false hope, warmongering, invasions of privacy, etc.

To turn things around, the economic system must be restructured to work for the masses of people who live within it, not just the few wealthy people who run the corporations.

"Yeah," Toby answered the rhetorical question. "But I wanna work for myself and my family."

"You ain't smart or strong enough to do that." The master was pissed. "If you wanna eat you better stay in yo place, nigger! But you wanna be in my place, don't you. See, ain't nothin' wrong with slavery cause you'd try to be a master iffin you was intelligent and good and strong like me."

"There is one and only one conclusion that I should think everyone alive during this last year of sequester and shutdown and gridlock and Obamacare, and unprecedented government intrusion, would come to is this: the government we have in this country is too incompetent, inept, corrupt, wasteful, and inefficient, too centralized, undemocratic, unjust, and invasive, and too unresponsive to the needs of individual citizens and small communities, and all because it is too big. Simple as that."